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Why weren’t my books stolen?

A friend of mine works at a warehouse. The place doesn’t have too much of a pleasant history with lots of thefts in the past. He lost his expensive bicycle, has lost multiple phones and money thefts have occurred occasionally. Anything expensive or valuable in daily life, the stuff that could be bought with moneys got nicked. He’s got a separate storage room which he locks up with a big lock to keep his valuable stuff, so one day I went to fetch a book set of mine which he seems to have left in only in the drawers of the table. He wasn’t a bit worried about anyone stealing it. This disheartened me, not the fact that my valuable books were carelessly placed at a place so accessible, but for the fact that there are people who don’t ever read books.

I know the blokes who work at that place. They’re all lean and thin guys who work their socks off every day. All they do is load and unload the stuff that comes directly from the factory and all they need to do is carry heavy stuff and distribute. It’s sad that these people don’t have an education. They probably could read if they’d try, but they don’t. They’ve given up on it. Maybe they’re a tad bit old and a little ashamed to start with school, but they could still read books, couldn’t they? I go to the warehouse sometimes in the afternoon to meet my friends who work with the billings and make notes. In the noon when they don’t have, we often play Mini Militia II. It’s a game I enjoy, but that’s not the best part of my day. The best part of my day is reading, or learning something new. I wonder what the labourer’s dream of, probably enough money to buy a big enough mobile phone. Then what? What is the purpose of their life? Don’t they wish they could do something for the society?

I as an educated man, I’ve gotten rid of my prejudices. I don’t discriminate and I treat everyone equally. I call everyone “tapai”, even people I hate or loathe. It’s giving respect to people. The people who aren’t educated look for ways to make themselves feel better. Maybe the only time someone will treat them with respect is if they have a knife down someone’s throat. They should know that if people are obeying you because of the threat you pose, its fear you’re observing, not respect. I believe that everyone has that ability to start something even very late in their lives. These are the kind of people who probably spend an awful amount of time watching TV and living one day at a time, trying to survive, but it’s wrong. How will the country advance when labourers are complacent and do not even look forward to learning something every day? How can one be satisfied when all they’re looking to do is survive? I know I’ve been one of them who doesn’t read every day, but at least trying to find ways to make tomorrow a better day than today. I really think people should be enthused to learn. If only labourers were educated, they would know of something meaningful going on in the world. They would learn of the inequalities, learn the way the world is going round and play their part in fixing the country.

Maybe the guys who I see in the warehouse aren’t the smartest blokes, but it’s only because they’re brought up that way. I understand they were not as privileged as I was, so I urge someone who can do something about to play their part in education those who have not been educated. These are the kinds of people who are easy to manipulate and prone to violent acts. These are the kind of people who seek for acceptance and may be prone to activities like terrorism for recognition. Workers need to know the rights of the employees and the things that employers need to offer. Education is important and it does not have to be an educational degree. Remember in ancient history, the priests used to have disciples to teach them their philosophies. One can simply have a wise enough mentor to teach you the right things.

This country needs to develop and I wish there were more people who would read more books than scroll through useless feeds on social networks. I wish more people would value reading as much as the easy to the eye things in exposure. I wish people would spend their free time trying to make the best out of their lives, learn the things going on and learn something new every day. Learning something new every day is an exercise for the mind. More people should do that. Everyone should do that. Come on people, when will you realise that the knowledge in books is more valuable than social network sites and smartphones?